Mayor’s Race: More Than $4 Million Raised

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story reported that Mike Aguirre had not filed the required campaign disclosure by the Thursday deadline. He in fact did meet that deadline. We've updated this story to reflect this. We regret the error.

Fletcher’s campaign and the independent committees that support his candidacy reported raising $1.6 million as of Thursday in the latest comprehensive money filing of the campaign. Alvarez, who has the party endorsement, and the independent committees who support him reported bringing in $1.5 million.

About $150,000 in Fletcher’s camp, however, was transferred from one committee to another, so the net result pulls Fletcher and Alvarez about even.

Councilman Kevin Faulconer, the only Republican in the race, was still well behind the Democrat contenders. He and the committees that support him reported raising $1.1 million.

Former city attorney Mike Aguirre reported raising a total of $5,455 through Nov. 2. He spent $3,405 in that period. Early in the campaign, Aguirre said he wouldn’t accept more than $250 in donations from any one person.

All told, the four major candidates and various independent committees that have been established to support their bids have raised at least $4.2 million over the past 10 weeks. The committees are prohibited from coordinating activities with the candidates’ campaigns.

The bulk of the new figures come from disclosure reports filed Thursday with the San Diego City Clerk. In the new report, the second of three that will be filed before the Nov. 19 election, the candidates and committees listed contribution and expenditure totals from Oct. 6 — the day after the period covered by the first report — through Nov. 2.

Individuals who contributed $100 or more must be named. Kevin Faulconer and Nathan Fletcher went a step further, disclosing all their donors, regardless of how little they gave.

(The reports due Thursday only detailed contributions and expenditures through Nov. 2. Since that time, committees have continued to report daily contributions from individuals who have donated at least $1,000. To give the fullest picture, inewsource has combined all reported donations through Nov. 7.)

The detailed breakdowns follow:

David Alvarez

Photo by Angela Carone

Candidate David Alvarez shakes hands after the debate.

Alvarez, who has been endorsed by the local Democratic Party and big labor groups, continues to have a lot of money behind his candidacy. He and the three independent committees supporting him reported raising at least $1,526,562.82 as of Nov. 7.

That figure includes $5,750 raised by the campaign and supportive committees since Nov. 2, the last reporting deadline, from contributors who have given at least $1,000.

From the start of the campaign through Nov. 2, Alvarez’s own committee raised $252,399, including $700 in non-monetary contributions. It spent $160,480.

These figures are dwarfed by the money raised and spent by his three independent committees through Nov. 2. They received a combined $1,274,163 in contributions. Together, they spent $1,132,312, including more than $500,000 on television ads promoting Alvarez.

The overwhelming majority of the contributions and expenditures came courtesy of Working Families for a Better San Diego, an independent committee sponsored by the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council.

An inewsource analysis found that between the start of the race and Nov. 2 Alvarez had 565 individual contributors who gave at least $100. Of those, 284 were new contributors since Oct. 6. Alvarez does not list donors who gave less than $100. Campaign rules do not require that those donors be identified, but Faulconer lists every donor and Fletcher lists most donors.

Nathan Fletcher

Photo by Angela Carone

San Diego mayoral candidate Nathan Fletcher.

Fletcher, a Republican-turned-Democrat, and the two independent committees supporting him reported receiving contributions of at least $1,612,851 as of Nov. 7.

During the most recent filing period — Oct. 6 to Nov. 2 — Fletcher’s own campaign brought in

$216,888. It includes $1,449 in non-monetary contributions, and reflects a steep decline from the previous reporting period through Oct. 5, when his campaign pulled in $619,863.

Restoring Trust in San Diego, a pro-Fletcher independent political committee, received $427,500 in contributions. Another pro-Fletcher committee, Neighborhoods for Nathan Fletcher, received $133,000 in contributions.

Of that amount, $33,000 was counted as a non-monetary contribution from one committee to another. Restoring Trust in San Diego did polling in that amount for Neighborhoods for Nathan Fletcher.

Fletcher’s total reflects at least $155,100 raised by the campaign and supportive committees since Nov. 2, the last reporting deadline, from contributors who have given at least $1,000. Of that, $150,000 was another transfer between committees. On Nov. 7, Restoring Trust in San Diego contributed that amount to Neighborhoods for Nathan Fletcher. Disclosure reports did not indicate whether that was a cash or a non-monetary contribution.

From the start of the campaign through Nov. 2, Fletcher’s own committee raised $836,751. It spent $735,345.

His two independent committees received a combined $618,000 in contributions as of Nov. 2. Together, they spent $296,923 through that date, primarily on polling and on mailers supporting Fletcher.

An inewsource analysis found Fletcher had 1,545 individual monetary contributors between the start of the race and Nov. 2. Of those, 523 were new contributors since Oct. 6.

Kevin Faulconer

Photo by Claire Trageser

City Councilman Kevin Faulconer talks in front of supporters at his mayoral campaign launch.

Faulconer and his supportive independent committee had raised at least $1,076,909 as of Nov. 7, less than Alvarez and Fletcher. Of that amount, $328,774 — 30.5 percent — was raised in the period between Oct. 6 and Nov. 2.

Faulconer’s total reflects $24,750 raised by the campaign since Nov. 2 from contributors who have given at least $1,000.

San Diegans to Protect Jobs & the Economy, a pro-Faulconer independent political committee, reported contributions of at least $215,750 as of Nov. 2. They have not reported contributions from any $1,000+ donors since then. The committee spent $167,715 through that date, primarily on mailers supporting Faulconer.

From the start of the campaign through Nov. 2, the end of the reporting period reflected in Thursday’s filing, Faulconer’s campaign committee raised $836,409. That amount includes $750 in loans and $8,890 in non-monetary contributions, much of it pro-Faulconer signs and flyers produced by the county Republican Party.

He spent $757,692.

An inewsource analysis found Faulconer had 1,846 individual monetary contributors between the start of the race and Nov. 2. Of those, 761 were new contributors since Oct. 6.

Questions, tips or suggestions? Email reporter Joe Yerardi at joeyerardi@inewsource.org or call him at 619.594.5321. Follow Joe on Twitter at @JoeYerardi.